Claire, p.17
Claire, page 17
He grabbed my hand and moved closer to me. I shouted in his ear, “This is awesome!” He smiled at me and raised his thumbs up. “Thanks for bringing me!”
He cupped his hand to his ear. I shouted it again. He still couldn’t hear me, so he moved in closer. On an impulse, I kissed his cheek and shouted, “Thanks!”
He grinned and shouted back. “Glad you like it.”
We spent the rest of our time doing flips and back flips. We even tried to stand on our heads in the air. It didn’t work — more like a dive bomb — but it sure was fun, especially when he held me as he showed me what to do. I was reluctant to leave when it was over, but we had a game to go to. I’d still have lots more time to spend with him.
I’d never been to a football game before, so seeing Paul get excited as we entered the stadium got me kind of curious to know what I’d been missing. He waved at his friends as we passed them. Most nodded good-naturedly, some gave me curious looks.
The weather cooperated perfectly. I sat down next to Paul on the metal bleacher facing the field. I looked around at the crowd, trying to find Emily or Kat. They said they’d come together. Kegan said he wasn’t going to come at all, something about a Star Wars marathon. Denise was a cheerleader, so she would be here down on the sidelines. When I finally spotted Kat and Emily, they waved at me from the other end of the bleachers. I waved back and smiled. They seemed to be as excited as everyone else here.
No wonder Denise loved gatherings like this. She probably fed off the euphoria. With fifteen minutes until the game started, the marching band was on the field giving it their best. Our mascot, a red devil, marched around behind them, pretending to use his pitchfork as a trombone. Paul slipped away for a few minutes to get us some nachos and drinks.
Soon the drill team took the field and the devil joined the dance in a few places, bringing squeals of delight from the spectators.
As the dancers left the field, the announcer’s voice boomed across the stadium. “Welcome to Daimon High! Home of the demons!” He introduced the teams, eliciting cheers from our school when our team ran onto the field. The opponents were announced and their side of the field shouted their support.
I watched in confusion at what was going on. The team captains met with the referee and did something that looked oddly like a coin toss. What’s that for? Did they determine who got what by chance? The teams lined up in their formation as the game began. Nothing made much sense to me. I knew it was good when my school had the ball, but they didn’t seem to get very far before the other team smashed them to the ground. “Man!” Paul shouted when one of the big guys on the other team plowed over one of ours who held the ball. I looked over at him in surprise at his emotion.
“Did you see that?” he asked me. “Johnson was so close. Just another three feet and touch down!”
I nodded in agreement that it was just too bad, thought I didn’t know why. I didn’t want to ask Paul the rules of the game. I didn’t want him to realize how stupid I was about this whole thing, but at the same time, who cared? My only reason for coming was to be with Paul. Maybe I should do a little cheering by following the mood of the crowd.
It wasn’t anywhere near real to me, but Paul didn’t seem to notice. When our team scored, he gave me a high five. When their team did something he didn’t like, he shouted with all the others around us. I stood and cheered when he did. And sat and muttered my condolences when he booed the other team.
Finally, half time came. I enjoyed watching the marching band and the dancers more than the game. Probably because I could at least follow it. Paul told me he was going to go get more concessions and asked if I wanted to come with.
“No, I’ll just stay here and watch the performance.”
“Okay,” he said, giving my ear a tug.
I watched him as he left and then occupied myself with some people-watching. I had a little bubble of personal space all around me. I hadn’t noticed it before because Paul was right next to me, but even in the crowded bleachers, I wasn’t touched by anyone on either side. In front and back of me there was enough room that someone else could have sat. Normally that would have bothered me, but now that I knew who and what I was, it no longer seemed so important. I was fine if normal people found me difficult to be around. They had good instincts, I guess.
But if that were the case, then what did that say about Paul? I chose to believe it was because he’d known me for so long. He saw past my oddness and found something interesting about me. My heart warmed at the idea. As I sat there contemplating the reasons why Paul was so perfect for me, a slight commotion caught my attention. Someone moved among the crowd.
The people displaced by the stranger didn’t seem to notice him once he’d passed, but when he came close enough for me to see, I sucked in a deep breath. It was the ugly demon boy I’d seen earlier with Quinn. He headed straight for me with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
He sat next to me, forcing the person to the side of him to slide over more. It was almost like they didn’t pay attention to the ugly demon boy, but knew for some reason they should give him more room.
“I know who you are,” he spoke in a rough voice.
“Good for you,” I said, shrugging. I didn’t want to act too suspicious or afraid so I decided to pretend I didn’t have a clue to who or what he was … which was actually pretty true.
“I know what you plan to do.”
“Really? And what’s that?” I asked, looking at him briefly before shifting my gaze back to the performers on the field, trying to act like I didn’t care.
“You think you can withstand him, but there is no way.” He chuckled as if it were funny. He leaned in closer, his terrible breath making me almost gag, and whispered, “My master has his eyes on you. He has chosen you to be his next fortunate one. He knows what you are capable of and wishes to grant you more if you will join him.”
I finally looked over at him, stunned. The demon lord wanted me? And what was a fortunate one? Did he know we were preparing to fight him? Did he know about the others? Was Quinn aware of this? This ugly demon boy had been to see her at least twice. Who knows how much contact he’d had with her?
“Who are you?” I asked in a whisper.
“A messenger,” he said as if trying to sound important. “I’ve been authorized to offer you this privilege. There are not many like you, so once my master discovers one, he wants to move in quickly.”
“But why me? What’s so special about me?” I hoped he’d tell me more without me asking specifically about the others. If he didn’t know about them already, I didn’t want to give them away. Quinn said there was a change in the balance of power and that’s how she came to find us. How much had the balance tipped with multiple supernaturals in the same place?
“You are one of the strongest in ages. Once my master felt the shift in the balance, he knew something important was going on. He sent another to learn about you, even try to turn you. That has not given him the information he desired, so he sent me. From what I can tell, there is at least one other somewhere here, but their abilities are so insignificant that he will be able to sweep them up with no problem.”
He didn’t know about the five of us? Why not? Hadn’t Quinn said that was the reason he’d be aware of us? Was she lying? I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
He leaned in closer to me as if wanting to tell me some secret. I leaned back slightly and held my breath.
“For you, though, he wishes to offer you a position of greatness. Once he trains you, you will be more powerful than any other besides himself. If you make an alliance, you’ll be unstoppable together. You are even more powerful than his last fortunate one.” He looked me over from top to bottom as if appraising me. His expression turned lecherous. My skin crawled.
I was being offered a position of power by a demon. Who was the other fortunate one? What would happen if I became the next highest in power? I shook my head in disgust for even contemplating this. I didn’t want to become a demon or the servant of anything, even if he did claim I would be second in power. I didn’t want to lose Paul either.
“No.”
“No?” he asked, sounding shocked at the simple word. “But you could be so great. You could have everything you wanted.”
“No,” I said again. He lied. I wouldn’t have unlimited power. I’d be a slave to another.
“You will regret this,” Ugly Demon Boy said, breathing heavily. He seemed angry, yet almost afraid at the same time.
“Whatever,” I said, trying to ignore him.
He huffed and crowded close to me. “You think you can defeat him?” he hissed, spraying me with his spittle. “You may be one of the strongest in ages, but he still has so much more experience than you. You will never be able to withstand him.” He stood up and leaned over me to scare me. “I will enjoy watching him destroy your soul. He’ll then have you anyway, and you will be nothing. You will be even lower than the lowest. I will enjoy stepping on you.”
I’d had enough. I stood up and turned to him, bringing my face close to his. The skin he wore on top of his demon face was horrible to look at, but beneath it his eyes were scared. He might talk tough, but even now I knew I could beat him. Not that I’d try in the center of the bleachers.
“Back off,” I said slowly. “Never threaten me again. Go ahead and tell your master that he can try to take me, but I won’t come easily.”
He tried to cut me off. I grabbed his arm and pressed hard with my fingernails, making them harden and form into claws. He squirmed in pain. I whispered through clenched teeth, “Leave now, and maybe you can survive tonight to tell your master my answer.”
I pressed harder with my claws before letting him go. He hunched his head down into the shelter of his shoulders and backed away from me, never breaking eye contact. I stared at him, giving him a look that I hoped was terrifying. He obviously thought I was some huge threat, but now that the moment was over, I began to feel weak and a little frightened.
A touch on my shoulder made me jump. I whipped around, arms up to defend myself. Paul took his hand off my shoulder and stepped back slightly.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you.” He looked down at the stuff in his other arm to make sure he hadn’t spilled anything. While he was distracted, I looked back at Ugly Demon Boy. My heart thudded at the look on his face as he stared at Paul. When he caught me looking at him, he grinned an awful grin, stepped into a shadow, and disappeared.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A cold chill ran down my spine. This was bad. I looked at Paul quickly. His expression turned from amusement to concern in seconds.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting down next to me and placing the goodies he bought on the bleachers on his other side.
“Nothing,” I said, trying to shake off the feeling I had.
“Was that guy bothering you?”
“No.” I didn’t realize Paul had seen him. What did he look like to Paul? I couldn’t ask him without raising suspicions. “He was just from the other school and came to harass me about our team.”
“Do you know him?” Paul asked.
“I’ve seen him a couple of times before,” I answered truthfully. “Guess he thought he’d come here to try to scare me.” I looked back to where I last saw him. “Didn’t work, though.”
“Good,” Paul said. “Don’t worry, we’ll beat those guys. No problem.” He looked at the scoreboard. I glanced at the score as well, but didn’t have a clue how we’d gotten any of those points. The other team was ahead of us by thirteen.
Paul offered me the nachos and a drink. I took them absently and started munching as I watched the half time performance wrap up. He reached over and took some, then placed his hand on my knee. I put my free hand on top of his and squeezed it softly.
Ugly Demon Boy’s strange offer ran through my mind. The demon lord must have confused the power of the five of us with just me. But how did he know about me? Had they been spying on me? Or was his information from that one night outside the school when I first saw Quinn shift into her demon form? I didn’t think he saw me then, but it was a possibility. When the game started again, I barely noticed anything. Even when Paul jumped up cheering at a touchdown — I’d finally learned the name of some of the terms ― I was distracted.
Eventually he noticed I wasn’t into the game at all. He sat next to me and asked, “Aren’t you enjoying the game?”
“What?” I asked, coming out of my thoughts of the whole demon issue.
“The game?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah, it’s great.” I looked up to the scoreboard and noticed we were ahead now. “Oh, when did that happen?”
“Have you even been watching for the last thirty minutes?” He looked at me with concern obvious on his face.
“Off and on,” I shrugged.
“Do you even like football?” he asked softly. I looked up at him wondering how to answer that. Would he be bothered if I said no? He wouldn’t believe me if I said yes. I decided to walk the middle.
“I don’t not like it. I just don’t know much about it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. “I could have explained the whole thing to you.”
“I don’t know,” I said, looking into his eyes, enjoying the concern in them for something so trivial as a football game. “I didn’t want to interfere with your fun. I figured I’d just watch and cheer when you did.”
“You don’t have to like something just because I do. We could have gone somewhere else tonight instead of the game.” He took my hand in his.
“It wouldn’t really have mattered where we went. I was just excited to do something with you. I could care less on the location.” I smiled at him.
He smiled back and put his arm around me. I laid my head on his shoulder. We watched the game like that for a while. Paul whispered some of the rules and basics of the game so I could follow it a little better. I’d never be able to repeat the rules or try to explain how the game was played, but I sure enjoyed the closeness as we sat together.
We eventually jumped up and cheered each time our team scored a touchdown or intercepted the ball. By the time the fourth quarter ended, I was so excited about our team’s performance I actually hugged Paul when they made the last touchdown and scored the field goal. I decided if I ever had to watch a football game again, I’d definitely do it if Paul were with me.
***
As Paul drove me home, the excitement of the game was still on his mind. I felt a small thrill, but it was only temporary for me. I probably felt the overflow of his emotions. If this were similar to what Denise felt, no wonder she sucked people’s energy.
Paul held my hand as he drove, only letting go long enough to shift gears. I loved how he maintained contact. He pulled up in front of my house and kept my hand in his, effectively keeping me in the car with him. “Thanks for enduring the football game tonight.” He smiled, making my heart melt. I had to remind myself why I thought it was important for us to keep our distance. He was so adorable.
I smiled back. “Thanks for putting up with someone as clueless about it as me.”
“That wasn’t hard to do. You pulled it off beautifully for the first half. I had no idea you didn’t really care for the game.”
I probably could have kept up the charade if I hadn’t been so distracted by Ugly Demon Boy’s information. I’d managed to put it mostly out of my head while Paul was right there, leaning close and describing the plays as they occurred. Even now, the stuff Ugly Demon Boy said didn’t seem real. Paul was what I wanted to focus on.
I looked at him in the dim light of the street lamp as it lit up the inside of the car. I could just stay here in the car with him. I glanced toward the house and then back at Paul.
He looked at the house as well.
“I really don’t want to go in,” I admitted.
“You could stay out here with me, but…”
Yeah, that but…
Was I ready to fully commit to a relationship? I wished I were, but it would be best to wait until after I knew what this whole thing with Quinn and that demon lord would end like. With Paul as my reward if I lived, I’d do my best to make it.
“You are so good to me,” I whispered. “Thanks for understanding me even though I don’t understand myself sometimes.”
He sagged slightly. I felt his disappointment. “Oh, I don’t understand you at all, but I never expected to. I just tell myself to expect the unexpected.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“I’ve never been disappointed so far.”
“So at the dance tomorrow, what are you expecting?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“To have fun and dance every dance with you.”
“That sounds doable,” I agreed. “I’ll try to make sure to not surprise you too much, though I can’t make any promises.”
“No need to. I’m flexible.” He reached over and tugged on my ear. I smiled and kissed my first two fingers, then placed them on his full lips. When I took my hand away, I nearly leaned over and kissed him for real. I forced myself to open the door and step out.
“I’ll pick you up at Emily’s just before seven, right?”
“Seven.” I nodded. That should give me enough time to get home from our last meeting with Quinn and get ready.
I walked to the house, trying not to look back. At the door, I smiled and waved when I saw him still watching me. Good thing he hadn’t walked me to the door since I didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness of the goodbye there. So much easier in the car.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
It was hard to focus at first when we met with Quinn on Saturday morning. She said she couldn’t stay with us for very long or her master would become suspicious. If that’s true, why did she even make us meet today anyway?
